The Empowerment Of Role Of The Family
In Developing Character Of Environmental Awareness
In Elementary School-Age Children
By:
Kadek Aria Prima Dewi PF
Institut Hindu Dharma Negeri Denpasar Email: primadewipf@ihdn.ac.id
Received: April 20, 2017 Accepted: May 24, 2017 Published: May 31, 2017
Abstract
This research aims to see the empowerment process of role of the family through Waste Bank media to develop character of environmental awareness in elementary school-age children. The qualitative descriptive research methodology is used. The result of this research shows that the empowerment of role of the family in developing character of environmental awareness in elementary school-age children in State Elementary School 1 Padangsambian is determined by the role of waste bank media through intervention of school to students’ parents. The initial stage of intervention activity is performed with parenting activity in school with the theme of environmental awareness. Furthermore, all forms of activities or moral actions of environmental awareness are guided by Waste Bank community. The family becomes active in the environmental awareness activity and the control process is implemented together by school and Waste Bank community. Keywords: family education, waste bank, character of environmental awareness, elementary
school-age children
Vol. 1 No. 1 May 2017
I. Introduction
The environmental damage becomes a central issue around the world. Based on the result of a survey from Ministry of Environment in 2012, the awareness level of Indonesian people was considered very low, that was only 57 percent (Ministry of Environment, 2013).
environment too (Adiwikarta, 2016: 4). With education, life quality of human being will improve.
The effort to improve or socialize the life attitude of environmental awareness can be performed by improving the role of society as a social system in education. School as a formal educational institution will not carry on education and achieve its determined purpose without the support from family and society. Therefore, the empowerment of role of family and society becomes an important point in realizing the purpose of education, particularly in the effort to solve the globalized environmental problem. Society expects that individuals grow in a family environment which has awareness on environmental problems. As the first major educational institution, family should be able to implement its function, so the children grow into people with the character as expected by society, particularly in the effort of environmental preservation. Nowadays, family entrusts all processes of education to formal educational institution, by almost ignoring its function as the first major educational institution. Murdock (in Adiwikarta, 2016: 11) stated that family formed through universal marriage has four main functions, namely sexual, reproduction, education, and economy. Only in family environment, those four functions occur in an integrated way. In other institutions, the only existence of some or one of functions is justified.
Related to the issue of environmental crisis/ ecology, individuals as part of society have started losing principle or values. The value can be used as a reference of individual action of environmental awareness. This condition can be called anomie. Anomie is a condition in which individuals lose any principle in living in the society (in Ritzer, 2013, page 92). In order to solve the occurring environmental crisis, the control of individual action becomes a domain which is quite important to research. The
government of Denpasar City through Head of Padangsambian Subdistrict cooperated with a community of environmental awareness. The community is Waste Bank. The community has been established since 2013. It aims to change the perspective of society on waste, so waste is not a problem anymore for people in Padangsambian Subdistrict considering that waste is a source of environmental problem in city. For long-term period, this community also aims to provide quality human resource with characters of responsibility and awareness on environment around them. This movement is also an implementation of Clean and Green movement which is currently promoted by Denpasar City.
II. Methods
This qualitative research was conducted in Elementary School 1 of Padangsambian Subdistrict. The data were collected with observation technique, interview, and document study. In order to test the data validity, it used data triangulation technique (method triangulation and time until the obtained data were saturated).
This research is a continuation of the research of development of community-based value education model to develop character of environmental awareness in elementary school children. This research emphasizes on the effect resulted from the implementation of model for one year.
III. Results And Discussion
A. Waste Bank Community as Media to Develop Character of Environmental Awareness in Society of Padang-sambian Subdistrict
preservation of environment. The effort to maintain environmental preservation has been conducted; the effort is an implementation of value passed on to society from generation to generation. The passed values are environmental preservation values from the teachings of Hinduism, considering that most of people in Padangsambian Subdistrict embrace Hinduism.
The ideal concept of environmental preservation is described in holy books, namely
Sruti, Smerti, Sila, Acara, Atmanastuti, and
Nibhanda. Besides, there are environmental preservation rites every six months based on the calculation of Balinese calendar. Based on Christian calendar, the rites are performed every 210 days; it is called TumpekBubuh. The rite of environmental preservation is an implementation of teaching of PancaYajna, namely BhutaYajna. The ceremony of
BhutaYajna by Hindu society in Padangsambian Subdistrict has several types in which one of them is ceremony/ritual. The ceremony shows a close relation between human beings and plants. Besides, the implemented rite implies more on the transcendent (niskala) ways in which the target is harmonization with the unseen world. The belief in supernatural beings living in certain places like river, lake, mountain, valley, big tree, and so on has a positive effect on environmental preservation. This belief can grow ecological ethics based on spiritualism. People will not carelessly treat their environment (Januariawan, 2004, page 45).
The influence of modernization has cut the oral tradition of learning. New generation studies from electronic media and internet more frequently, rather than their parent; it causes degradation of ecological ethics in young generation as seen in the behaviour of children who throw garbage carelessly in areas giving source of life, such as river, forest, lake, and surrounding environment. The effort to control behaviour of society toward environmental
awareness is conducted by making products of customary law called awig-awig. Individual action related to effort of environmental preservation in the view of Durkheim is a moral action for collective interest. Moral action is useful for the reality which we call society. Morality is not a personal work, but it is something we desire together; therefore, we have awareness to give autonomy on behaviour.
Awig-awig has a roleto control individual action to give benefits for collective interest.
Awig-awig isrealization of effort of Hindu society to progressively adapt to the demand of life in society. The individual action expected to have collective effect in awig-awig is related to philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, the perspective relating to three basic perceptions of human being relation. Tri Hita Karana
means a harmonious relation with the Creator, fellow human beings, and nature and other creatures. This teaching views that effort to maintain harmony requires other people, Creator, and environment as partners. The environmental preservation value is from religion; the action taken aims to give benefits on social environment and nature.
Awig-awigis a basic of legal provisions in which Balinese customary law is found. The perception between human being and God can be found in provision regulating “sukerthatata agama”, perception between relation of human being and society can be found in rule of “sukerthatatapawongan”, and perception of society about relation between human being and nature can be found in rule regarding “sukerthatatapalemahan”. Awig-awig of PakramanPadangsambian Village clearly regulates effort of environmental preservation in sukerthatatapalemahan.
mentioned that people are not allowed to throw garbage, carrion, waste water from their house to road and yard of other people. The meaning of awig-awig above is that people control their trash and waste, so it does not disturb the harmony of relation among neighbours (human beings) and relation with Ida Sang HyangWidhi
(holiness of karang and temple). It is an effort to realize the teaching of Tri Hita Karana.
In the compiled awig-awig, there is no rule about sanction given to individuals damaging environment related to waste disposal. The environmental problem in city is caused more by piles of garbage thrown carelessly around river, vacant land, or roadside. The lack of sanction is then filled by regulation of government of Denpasar City in appeal of Department of Hygiene and Gardening No. 658.5/2114/DKP, which aims to realize Denpasar City “BERSERI” (Clean, Healthy, Leafy, and Beautiful) with cultural insight, based on Regional Regulation of Denpasar City no. 3 Year 2000 regarding hygiene and public orderliness. The infringement on a provision in the local regulation above may receive admonition of imprisonment up to 3 (three) months and/or fine up to IDR 5,000,000 (five million rupiah). People of Padangsambian Subdistrict as part of Denpasar City follow regulation and appeal made above. However, regulation of rule enforcement is not yet implemented well, so there is a damaged environment caused by garbage. In the environment, there is no rule regarding prohibition to throw garbage in river and around beach.
The effort to control people behaviour to be more aware of the environment cannot be conducted only through legal regulation or sanction. However, it is more about strategy to pass on positive values to society. The effort has been conducted through hygiene counseling on every plot in which there are 21 plots/ environments. However, the effort does not yet show a significant result. The counseling effort
implemented in plots focuses more on adult people, particularly the married people. It is expected that old people realize expectation of government to sort garbage in house, so the custom can be passed on to their children. The counseling is implemented with cooperation together with community of Waste Bank BuanaDesa Lestari under guidance of Waste Bank Bali Wastu Lestari cooperating with Unilever company.
Family is the smallest institution in society, the strategy to develop environmental awareness value through role of Head of Subdistrict in giving counseling as an effort to transform value does not fully meet expectation. Therefore, the development of role of the family is required to adapt the value of Waste Bank community through different strategy. The relation of social interaction implemented on Padangsambian Subdistrict in developing character of environmental awareness can be seen in Figure below.
Waste Bank Community which frequently organizes environmental awareness movement consists of 3 groups, namely Waste Bank BuanaDesa Lestari, Waste Bank Bali Lestari, and Waste Bank Permata, under guidance of Waste Bank Bali Wastu Lestari. All Waste Banks under guidance of Bali Wastu Lestari are under guidance of Unilever Company. In general, it can be known that environmental awareness value education model applied in Padangsambian society occurs in family, school, and society. Family as the smallest institution in society is target of effort to maintain the environmental preservation.
bond and influential relation among its members, but it is not well empowered by government. The government still focuses only on the conventional model of environmental awareness development. The empowerment of Waste Bank community through other social groups becomes solution in an effort to make people aware of the importance of maintaining hygiene and preservation of environment. Enculturation, transformation, and transmission of value through community and social group of society are strategy to prepare individuals with capacity as expected by society. In the small laboratory, individuals learn how to live in general public. This condition can help individuals to be free of anomie condition.
B. The Empowerment of Role of the Family through Waste Bank Media in Developing Character of Environ-mental Awareness in Elementary School-age Children
Development of role of the family in developing character of environmental awareness in elementary school-age children is implemented by improving role of Waste Bank community in Padangsambian Subdistrict. The institution with the role to bridge
communication between family and Waste Bank is school as formal educational institution with intervention power which is quite strong on parent. Therefore, this empowerment activity is started with stage of building communication and education toward parent of student called parenting session.
The parenting session is an initial stage by school in the effort to intervene parents to support the effort of school in developing environmental awareness character. In this phase, school presents the importance of parent’s support in helping development of environmental awareness character on children in school. The support is agreed and signed by parent in a moral agreement between school and parent. Through agreement, the commitment is required to perform several supports which be instructed later by school through some tasks to be done together by parent and children. Regarding task done by children together with their parent, it is an effort to habituate children to have or be familiar with moral action. Therefore, the owned moral knowledge can be implemented, after students know benefits of the action taken, they will have a good moral feeling.
Parenting in the view of Lickona is one of strategies of partnership program development in school and house. According to Lickona, the involvement of parent is main indicator for the success of school (2012, page 79). School committed to character education can build it through the strategy to establish partnership between school and house. Through the program, school can reach parent to get involved together in the education process in school.
Second phase is the meeting of headman of subdistrict, Waste Bank Community, and all students, as the effort from parties in school, public figures, and Waste Bank Community to open the insight of students about environmental crisis, effect, and effort that can be done by students since early stage. The effort of school to invite public figures and head of Padangsambian Subdistrict is an effort to give emphasis and model for students to make them interested in environmental awareness activity. This stage aims to develop or encourage the development of students’ awareness to care about environment through external encouragement. This process is in line with the function of education described by Durkheim, in which the education functions to socialize the needs of society, culture value and norm required by children as the effort to adapt to society. So, education must have effort to realize that, with the aim of protecting children to follow the needs of society. Durkheim described that moral action is involvement or tendency of individuals to act in the society. So, the tendency of action relates to collective interest. So, the implemented action only for individual progress is not moral action. Similarly, action taken which only aims to benefit other individuals is also a non-moral action. Moral action is an action useful for the reality which we call society. In this meeting, head of subdistrict will invite students to take moral
action which is useful collectively for people in Padangsambian Subdistrict.
The process of value internalization according to Hakam is essentially an effort to bring something (value) which exists in external world in the beginning into internal property for a person or institution. Therefore, the value should be passed, the inheritance of noble value upheld by society to member of society, including the next generation. One of processes in value internalization covers information delivery, in the stage of information delivery which is full of value to be acceptable; it is not determined only by value, but it is also often affected by agent, the presenter of information. The quality of agent will affect quality and quantity of value to be accepted by individuals. Credibility and authority of agent become factor to determine whether or not the information is acceptable (Hakam, 2012, page 5-7). Based on the theory, bringing head of subdistrict together with Waste Bank in school is an effort to make the information delivery about the importance of environmental hygiene by managing waste more acceptable to the students.
IV. Conclusion
Padangsambian Subdistrict consists of people in transition from agrarian people to tourism industrial society. There are values which should be transformed related to effort to maintain environmental preservation. Therefore, empowerment of role of the family is done in developing character of environmental awareness in elementary school-age children in State Elementary School 1 Padangsambian, determined by the role of Waste Bank through intervention of school to students’ parents. The initial stage of intervention activity is performed with parenting activity in school with the theme of environmental awareness. Furthermore, all forms of activities or moral actions of environmental awareness are guided by Waste Bank community. The family becomes active in the environmental awareness activities and the control process is implemented together by schools and Waste Bank community.
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